MINNEAPOLIS — Sonny Gray took a 100 mph screamer off his pitching shoulder in the fourth inning Thursday, a scary moment that caused the game to be delayed for several minutes while he was checked out.
And that wasn't even the most painful part of the inning.
No, Luis Robert's 452-foot grand slam, a blast that landed a half-dozen rows deep in the second deck in left field, probably pained the ultra-competitive Gray even more. It all but ended both his night and his team's, as Chicago waltzed its way to a 12-2 victory over the Twins.
Combined with Cleveland's shutout win in Detroit, the loss trimmed Minnesota's lead in the AL Central to 3 1/2 games over the Guardians and four over the White Sox.
The four-run inning wasn't as damaging as the six-run blowup Gray had in the fifth inning of his previous start, last Friday in Texas, but was particularly disappointing given that Gray had vowed after that loss to "find the swagger" that makes him the most accomplished pitcher on the Twins' staff. Gray often appears so determined on the mound, he seems able to produce strong performances out of sheer will.
But Thursday's potential bounceback went poorly from the start. From the first pitch, actually.
Tim Anderson, the White Sox's All-Star shortstop, lined that pitch, a 92 mph sinker right down the middle, into center field. Gray recovered by retiring the next two hitters, but Jose Abreu singled Anderson home with a single to right field. Two batters later, as if to signal what sort of night it was to be, Andrew Vaughn slapped what appeared to be an inning-ending grounder toward second base.
The ball ricocheted off the bag, scoring Abreu, and Gray was left to operate with a deficit that the Twins could never overcome — especially after the righthander was rattled by the liner at his body three innings later. Josh Harrison hit it, and after throwing a few pitches to make sure he could continue, Gray proceeded to allow a hit to Chicago catcher Seby Zavala and walk Anderson. Yoan Moncada hit a hard grounder at first baseman Luis Arraez just a step or two from the base, but he chose to throw immediately to the plate to make certain he retired Harrison on a force.
It was a sound, safe strategy — until Robert connected with a 1-1 slider that put the game out of reach. The Twins' bullpen, which on this night counted utility player Nick Gordon among its ranks for a depressing three-run ninth inning, couldn't stop the onslaught, and the game wound up the most lopsided loss of the season.
Minnesota, meanwhile, was dazzled by the unpredictable windup and wide assortment of pitches offered by 15-year veteran Johnny Cueto, who kept putting runners on base — seven hits in his six innings, plus two walks — and letting the Twins find creative ways to leave them on base. The Twins left the bases loaded in the first inning, turned a potential sacrifice fly into a double play in the second, and stranded Byron Buxton on third base in the third, after he led off with a triple.
Only Gio Urshela, who laced a liner into the left-field corner, was able to drive a run home, and the Twins went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
